Piece of my heart
by We All Need A Nap
Summary: Embry Call has wanted an imprint since he phased. Jessica Stanley wanted to find love ever since she began to feel inferior against her friend. But neither of their paths ever crossed until Jessica was about to go away to college in California...and well...it's not easy to love a Forks human, or a Native wolf. Some say impossible.
1. Just the start

" _But where are you going to go? You never mentioned being accepted to a college in California_." It was Lauren who spoke. He short white blonde hair peeking out from beneath her winter hat. Honestly, Lauren might have been the only friend she had in Forks that she would keep contact with. Or at least try. Lauren just seemed to be the only one who ever understood Jessica. They had their differences, that was for sure. But in the end, Lauren was the only one who ever seemed to understand how Jessica felt when she had a problem for the past several years. She had Angela, sure, but when Mike Newton suddenly had a crush on Bella rather than herself, Angela seemed perfectly content to let all the boys fawn over the new girl, despite the fact that Angela's crush was head over heels for Bella also. Lauren wasn't like that though, Lauren disliked the fact that Tyler liked Bella about as much as Jessica disliked Bella for it as well.

But while everyone else always tried to make Jessica feel bad or even ashamed for being jealous, Lauren would actually talk to her. They would share feelings without making the other feel bad. And so even if Lauren could seem hostile on the outside, Jessica had found a real friend in her where her other friends fell short. And now here Lauren was again, being the only one worried about where she would go as the time neared for Jessica to go through with her plans to go to California. **"Well, I didn't really want to say anything. I just feel like everyone thought I was going to go to Harvard or something…But I did get accepted into a small university in California. Los Angeles. I got accepted other places, but I've always wanted to go to California, you know that. They have student housing, and meal plans. I'll be taken care of Lauren. And who knows, maybe I'll meet a super hot actor like Ian Somerhalder who'll fall madly in love with me and buy me an Island."** Jessica teased, flipping her hair a little bit for dramatic flair.

Lauren began laughing just as Jessica did. _"You do that Jess, but I think you may want to re-think your plans. Ian Somerhalder is married to Nikki Reed."_ Lauren replied, still giggling a little. Jessica shook her head and looked at the sand beneath their feet as they stood on the beach of La Push reservation. **"Okay, so maybe not him. But you get the idea."** Jessica said waving her hand dismissively before looking back up at Lauren and smiling.

" **Lauren, I really will miss you."** Jessica said as they stopped their walk in front of the small parking area where they'd left their cars. Lauren reached out and wrapped her arms around Jessica in a hug. Jessica didn't hesitate in hugging back _. "I'll miss you too. Just call me before you really leave. Okay?"_ Lauren said as they broke apart their hug to look at Jessica who nodded quickly. **"I wouldn't even consider leaving without calling you, Lori. But come on, I've got two weeks before I go. "**

" _Right, well, we've got to go out again before you leave. Maybe Port Angeles? Get you something nice for California…hey, aren't you coming?"_ Lauren asked suddenly. She had begun making her way back to her car only to realize that Jessica wasn't following.

" **No, I think I'm going to hang out here a while longer. My parents went out for dinner, so I might as well."** Jessica replied as she glanced down the beach then back at Lauren. _"Don't stay out too late. It sucks driving home in the dark. Especially with all those bear sightings around, you have to be careful."_ Lauren reminded. Jessica wasn't that worried though. La Push and Forks both had low crime rates, and even so, she didn't plan to stay that long. She just wanted to take a small walk down the beach, maybe go and check out a things around La Push that she'd never really gotten a chance to see but had been meaning too. It wasn't that late anyways, just three. So that was about three hours before the sun would begin to set. With that Jessica waved good-bye to Lauren as she got in her car and began to drive away. This left Jessica alone. Something that she wasn't very often it seemed.

Jessica always seemed to have a friend with her, or even a group. A group she hardly cared about anyone in, but people none the less. However, even someone so social as Jessica needed alone time every now and then. Even for sentimental value. As she was doing now. This had been the only beach she'd ever gone to since she was a kid. First with her parents, then with her friend, and occasionally alone just to think. It was usually chilly, but that just seemed to be something everyone would suck up for a day at the beach. Jessica hugged her hoodie around herself and began down the walk of the beach.

It was about ten minutes later that Jessica finally decided she was bored of walking the beach by herself. So she made her way back to her car, decided to take a drive around the tribal lands. La Push, while a fairly poor area, was still beautiful in it's own right. Rather than actual roads, a lot of it seemed to be dirt roads that lead through the lush green woods. Honestly, Jessica didn't really know where she was going. She just knew she was driving. Though after a few turns she found a small shop. She was sure she'd seen it before, she just couldn't place when. Jessica didn't take much time to dwell on that though, as the shop looked older than she was, so it had to have been there long since before would have ever realized it was there as a kid. There were only a few parking spaces, only one of which was taken by some old beat up truck. Jessica pulled in a few spaces away from the truck and climbed out. She had never thought she had the best car in the world, but compared to that truck, she might as well have just pulled up in a brand new convertible. Jessica adjusted her sweatshirt, slipped her cell phone in her pocket, and made her way inside. The door made a jingling sound as she opened it and stepped onto the old hardwood flooring. She glanced around. On the outside she had thought it was just a convenient store of sorts, and in a way it was. Mixed in with a bunch of old tribal looking things, and a fairly small selection of clothes.

Jessica looked at the other occupants of the store. One was a face that she'd seen before. Not often, certainly not often enough to call him her friend. Jacob Black. He was Bella's friend. Ordinarily, Jessica might never have recognized him. But someone as large as himself was easily remembered. He was leaning on his arms onto the check out counter, his head turned around to look at Jessica as she stood awkwardly in the door way. Was she supposed to say hello? She didn't think they were that well acquainted.

There only appeared to be one other person besides herself and Jacob, and that was the man behind the check out counter. Or at least she thought he was a man. But then, the Quileute boys did have a reputation for being huge these days. He was pretty attractive, that was easy to see. But was staring at her. Like he'd never seen a girl before. Jessica furrowed her brow and stared back at him for a moment as if to silently let him know that what he was doing was creepy. He seemed unphased. Jessica then had two options. Duck behind the nearest shelf and pretend to be looking at something while she secretly hid, or risk looking stupid and turning right around and hurrying out of the store. Well Jessica was one girl who did not enjoy looking stupid. So she looked directly forward and marched herself right behind the nearest shelf. There was seemingly random stuff on the shelf for sale. A few dream catches, arrow heads, a couple snow globes, and carved wooden mugs to name a few. Jessica peeked through the shelf to see if the clerk was still watching her. He wasn't. Now he was looking at Jacob. She could hear them murmuring quietly about something, but she couldn't hear what. She leaned in closer as if this might help, trying to at least see if she could read their lips. It proved useless of course, as Jessica had never had that gift. Eric on the other hand could read lips from across the school hallway when he wanted too. Jessica squeezed her lips together. It didn't matter what they were saying. Maybe the guy just thought she was cute or something but didn't get a lot of dates. She'd heard some guys get super nervous like that. Though Jessica didn't really have experience in that department. That had always been Lauren and Bella's areas. Jessica pushed herself away from the shelf in slight frustration . Unfortunately for her, she hadn't realized just show unstable the shelf before her was, as immediately a snow globe fell off and shattered on the ground causing all of liquid, sparkles, and glass to go flying at her feet. Jessica jumped back, and looked up at the counter like a deer caught in head lights. **"Erm….there's a spill!"** She called as if both the boys weren't already looking directly at her, completely aware that a snow globe had broken. She caught the clerk boy's eyes. They were a warm but dark brown color. Mysterious even. Finally the clerk turned around and grabbed a broom and dust pan from behind the counter and made his way over. He began sweeping up the mess. **"Sorry."** Jessica said, backing up a little to give him space to clean up.

" **It was ugly anyway."** The clerk informed her with a shrug. Now it seemed he was refusing to look at her. **"I can pay for it."** Jessica said now, unsure of how else to handle the situation. If she had been at a larger grocery store, it wouldn't be a problem, no one would have had an issue. However smaller ones? Well she knew full well they couldn't afford to have everything broken and replace it like nothing.

" **Don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything."** The clerk replied, this time looking up at her eyes again before quickly returning to cleaning up his mess. " **What's your name?"** He asked as if trying to act casual, though Jessica could see plainly that he was nervous for some reason. Surely people had dropped things in here before?

" **Jessica. Stanley. Jessica Stanley."** Jessica admitted as she put her arms behind her back and leaned against the nearest wall, unsure if she should just leave the man to clean up her mess in piece. **"What's your name? Do you own this store?"** She asked both at once. One thing about Jessica, she loved to talk.

" **Embry Call. And my mother does…now at least. Uhm…it used to belong to some guy, but he left it to my mom when he died. Didn't have anyone else I guess." Embry** said with a shrug. He himself didn't recall the man very well. It wasn't that Embry didn't like him, but he had died when Embry was only about four, and so his mother had run the place since. **"We live right above it."** Embry admitted almost sheepishly. He knew the place was small, and by the looks of Jessica and her car, well, it was clear she'd never worried a day whether or not the bills would get paid.

" **Oh…is it interesting? I've never lived over a shop."** Jessica replied quickly. Well that was a stupid question. Only she didn't realize it until after she'd said it. He probably didn't think anything of it, especially if he'd lived there for a few years at least. **"What about your father? Does he work here too?"** She then asked, perhaps prying far more into the life of Embry than she should.

" **I never met my father. It's interesting I guess. But works best. Keeps us close to the merchandise, which I think just makes mom worry less since we can make sure no one breaks in."** Embry said. He wanted Jessica to know everything she wanted to know about him. If it would make her happy, he would be set on doing anything for her. Because he'd felt it. His imprint. He'd felt everything around him stop the second she stepped into the shop, and all he wanted to do was know her, and look at her. It was like opening his eyes for the first time, only to see the most beautiful creature standing right before him. She looked creeped out, that was for sure, but even with her odd expression she remained beautiful to him. At the same time though, speaking of his father was always an uncomfortable topic for him, and most everyone around him. So far the pack had narrowed it down to three men who could possibly be his father, only one of them was long gone, and the other two would never admit to having been unfaithful to their wives, as they had both already been married and had prior children. Some of those children being his own best friends, Quil and Jacob. The third had a kid too, and that was Sam.

No one ever really talked about it, but Embry had always hoped his father was Sam's as well. Or at least, since he found out he was a wolf and his father had to have been one of the three. However Sam's father had left Sam as a child, and no one had seen him since. It would just be easier for everyone if that were the case. And while Embry didn't know for sure, he figured everyone else secretly hoped that too. Even if they didn't want to admit it. Embry tried not to pry too much though. As much as he wanted to know who his father and in turn his half brother was, he knew that could potentially lead to a lot of headaches and upsets if it didn't turn out to be Sam's father.

" **I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."** Jessica apologized after having realized what a rude questioned she'd asked was **. "I should, go now, my parents are just out, or well, not really out, they're um…I'll…just… they're…you see…"** Jessica fumbled over her words as she slowly backed up towards the exit. Oh great, he was looking at her again. With those eyes, those dark handsome eyes. **"Bye!"** She called just before turning and rushing out of the shop. Okay so that was the most awkward store visit she'd ever had. And that included the time she got her period at a strip mall in port angeles and forgot to pack tampons. She looked through the glass of the shop once more before she got in her car. She could see Embry's lips moving, as if he were talking to Jacob, but she was completely unable to hear them. Though she was able to see plainly, was that Embry's eyes were still on her. In fact, Jessica didn't think that they'd left her. He probably thought she was crazy now. Or even worse, rude. She supposed it didn't matter too much though. She was leaving in two weeks. It's not like she'd ever see him again.

So just like that, Jessica got in her car, and drove off.


	2. It's all about planning

**(A/N: I just wanted to thank those who reviewed on the first chapter for those nice reviews. I didn't actually expect anyone to even favorite it with only chapter, much less take the time to write a nice little review** **.**

 **Also I wanted to sort of get the time line clear. So this takes place After the last book, just a few months after the Volturi visited Washington for Renesmee. Embry has already switched over to the Black pack. Clearly Jessica has not left for California yet. Embry is two years younger than Jessica, so by this point Jessica would be 19 or pushing it, leaving Embry at 17 years old. Also as for the year, just to make things slightly less complicated for me, I'm pulling the dates up from what it was so everything lines up to present day. (Though not exactly, it's based early this year, and the Volturi would have visited in the winter of 2015.)**

 **So that's that. If there any questions please feel free to PM me, or leave a review, though remember if you leave a question review, if you have your PM's shut down, or leave it anonymously, you'll have to wait until the next chapter to receive and answer in the form of an Author's note. Also feel free to leave a review, or PM me things you would like to see in the story, and if I feel like it would fit, I might just toss it in. Credit will always be given.)**

Embry watched Jessica leave. He found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her as she hurried out the shop and into her car. She even speed out of the parking space she was in such a hurry to get away. Once she was gone, Embry finally looked over at his long time friend, Jacob Black. Jacob watched him in silence for a moment before scratching his neck and saying. _"Well, Good luck with that."_

" **I need to go out."** Embry said directly after Jacob's comment. He completely abandoned cleaning up the mess that his now imprint had made and went to the shop sign, flipping it around from 'open' to 'closed'. _"Dude, don't. Your mom's going to kill you. You're grounded and trying to shut down the shop early. She lives right in Forks, just wait…and you're not listening."_ Was the last thing Embry heard from Jacob as he opened the shop door, closing his behind himself and then running into the woods. He took off his shirt and pants and dropped them next to a tree before phasing into his wolf form. He had to know more about her. Jessica Stanley. And if he could manage it, the future Jessica Call. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself though. It was entirely possible she had a boyfriend already. One who she would marry and have five children with. If that were the case, it'd be awkward for sure, though the root of Embry was more concerned with her well being and happiness than being the one who got to sleep with that beautiful creature. But being the one who got to marry her would be the perfect ending.

As Embry began to run through the woods to get to Forks, he found more time to think. Even if Jessica _didn't_ have a boyfriend, did he really want to bring her into the life _he_ lived? Sure the other imprints seemed perfectly happy. But that didn't make it any less dangerous for her to know about what he was, or vampires, or any of it. And then the entire imprint thing seemed to cause more problems when it was brought up than not. Thinking on it more, the only person who'd actually managed a perfectly smooth imprint situation was Jared, whose imprint conveniently had a giant crush on him before he first phased and so was more than happy to be netted with him forever. But Embry was certain that Jessica didn't have a crush on him. In fact he seemed to have freaked her out. And what if he told her everything about himself, and she decided to leave? Then she'd know the tribe secrets, and would be all by herself with them, without him to watch her and protect her. Or at least, not visibly. Embry didn't even need to think about the fact that if she left he'd follow. Only he'd have to try and keep hidden from her if it came to that, as while Embry didn't know much about girls, he knew they usually didn't like being followed. Even when Bella in danger and the wolves were taking shifts outside her house to protect her, it was clear she was not very fond with it.

 _Bella._

That's it. Embry had been running to Forks, but he didn't actually know where he would be going after he got to the town. He'd only met Jessica very briefly, one time, years ago. He didn't know where she lived. But Bella Cullen did. Embry jumped up and turned around, heading in the opposite direction that he had been going. He was taking the short cut to Bella and Edward's home. The cottage they shared together with their daughter Renesmee. Embry was almost certain that Bella hadn't spoken with her old friends since before the birth of her daughter. Bella hadn't really spoken to anyone who wasn't directly in the know of what happened besides her parents. And that was just as well. The more people that found out, then the more people there would be to connect the dots, which meant the more people that would find out the bigger truth, and finally the more people that would end up dead because of it. Best to keep everything on the down low. That in itself was the main reason Embry hadn't even told his own mother about what he was, and instead willingly took being yelled at each morning and furthering his ever straining relationship with his mother. They might not have been on the best terms, but Embry loved his mother, and that's why he never told her his secret. To protect her. Even at the risk of her resenting or even hating him for it. Though Embry knew his mother would never hate him. Despite the trouble he'd caused her since before he was even born. If anything there was to admire his mother on, it was her inner strength. Her will to just keep moving, no matter how tough things got. And she never gave up.

By the time Embry had made it to the house, Edward was already standing outside of it. As Embry moved closer until he was roughly ten feet away, Edward shook his head. Embry resisted the urge to roll his eyes, though he was sure that Edward knew what he was thinking anyway. Edward didn't seem to know what privacy was when it came to the wolves. He'd pick through their thoughts all he wanted, and yet he wouldn't even allow them within ten feet of his home unless it was Seth, Leah, or Jacob. Half the time not even Jacob though, and usually Leah had no interest in hanging around the Cullens anyway. So really it was only Seth. Embry stood there, staring down Edward. This was always awkward. Trying to figure out how to speak with Edward like this. Embry doubted anyone had actually figured out an efficient way yet.

' _ **I need to see Bella.'**_ Embry thought. Maybe thinking words might help his case. Or at least make it easier to communicate what he wanted.

" _Why?"_ Was all Edward asked. Embry felt his teeth grit. How did Jacob put up with this shit? For Nessie. That could only be the explanation. Briefly Embry felt disgusted for Jacob. The poor guy was imprinted to something that was half made out this leech. _"That's enough. Keep Renesmee out of this."_ Edward said the moment he caught Embry's thought.

' _ **I need directions. Jessica Stanley.'**_ Embry informed Edward. He wasn't here to pick a fight. Embry never really came to the Cullen home to argue or fight. He just followed the direction of the alpha, and did what was best for his people and the pack. And after the whole mess with Edward's daughter, Embry had left the Uley pack in favor of the Black pack with Seth and Leah. He missed his old pack, but even after Jacob first left the Uley pack, Embry had felt the impact harder than anyone else. Jacob had been his friend since childhood. And over the years their bond had only grown stronger as they grew to enjoy the same things, and further more when they both phased into wolves. So much so that Sam had originally banned Embry from seeing Jacob when Jacob first left the Uley pack. He was worried that like Seth, Embry would leave the pack in favor of Jacob's. He was right to worry.

" _Why?"_ Was Edward's reply. Again. Embry was _really_ starting to hate him. He could never make anything easy could he?

' _ **She's my imprint. I have to make sure she's okay.'**_ Embry finally admitted. Very unwillingly at that. It wasn't that Embry didn't _want_ and imprint. He'd wanted one even since he'd noticed how happy his pack mates were when they were with theirs. While he had always had to sick back on the sidelines and watch. Not that he'd ever complain. He had always been happy for them. All of them. Even Quil who'd imprinted on a baby. Of course Embry had always thought it strange and fairly uncomfortable that Quil had imprinted on a baby, but he knew Quil had been unable to help it. But seeing the look of pure love and adoration on their faces…well…it had a way of making you feel lonely.

Edward got a deep frown and looked at the ground briefly before he seemed to catch that Embry was wondering what the look on his face was about. _"She and Bella weren't as close as you seem to think is all. But…assuming you know she lives in Forks, it's second street, 368."_ Edward got out finally. Embry looked Edward over suspiciously for a moment before turning away without another thought and running directly for Forks. Now that he knew where he was going, his journey would be a lot quicker. Though he didn't actually know what he planned to do once he got there.

It didn't take as long as Embry had originally thought it would to get to Jessica's home. At first Embry thought he might have made a mistake when he didn't see Jessica right away. But he could pick up on the scent of her from where he stood in the woods just beyond Jessica's backyard. Even though he'd only smelled her scent briefly in the shop, and now, he was already confident that he'd never grow tired of it. He could smell her floral lotions of course, but beneath that, everyone had their own underlying scent. Most indescribable, as it simply smelt like _them._ Jessica's though, well, hers was something special. At least, to him it was. Embry just kept waiting. And finally, it paid off. He saw movement in one of the windows. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was none other than Jessica, who had entered that room, talking on the phone. He could see her smile, someone on the other end was making her laugh as she appeared to sit down in a chair.

Embry knew that he should be heading to patrol. The sun had set by now, and it was his night. But he just couldn't make himself move from that spot where he could see her. Watch her. Was this how Jared, Paul, Quil, Jacob, and Sam felt? They had too. And if they really felt like that, then surely they would understand his lack of self control after imprinting on a girl he knew nothing about. Embry laid down on his paws. Obviously he wasn't going anywhere tonight.

Embry hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep until he woke up. And when he woke up, he looked directly at the window, only to see Jessica was in the middle of changing her shirt. He felt bad about doing a double take when he first realized what she was doing. But he just couldn't believe it. And she left the her curtains open! To be fair to her though…he was in the woods behind her back yard. It's not like her window was facing her street. She thought she had privacy. So with that in mind Embry quickly closed his eyes, even putting his paws over his nose in a most human like manner so he really couldn't see. He didn't want to see anything that Jessica didn't want him too. And he figured that anything _like that_ would be a long ways out. After what seemed like several minutes, Embry allowed his eyes to open again. Jessica was now fully dressed, and once again, on the phone. Was she on the phone a lot? It appeared so. But maybe she just had people to talk too? If he managed to get Jessica's number, he would probably have to force himself not to call her every second of the day.

" **No, I totally wasn't sleeping. Like I've been ready for hours."** Embry could hear Jessica's voice from inside her home if he listened closely. Whoever she was talking too, she wasn't being entirely honest. Not if she claimed to be ready for something when he'd only just seen her putting a shirt on **. "I'm on my way out right now! I promise, There will be waffles in the freezer before you're home, I promise. I'm on my way to the store right now, dad. "** He heard her say as she left the room that he'd been watching her in. It wasn't long before he heard her front door open and close, then her car door, and soon after he spotted her car as it rolled out of the drive way and down the street. So she was going to the store? Well he could certainly work with that. But first he needed clothes. Clothes were essential. At least, he thought so. Clearly it'd been too long since he tried to pick up a girl. Or well, now that he thought of it, he'd never tried to pick up a girl. After he got large from his change, some girls had tried to date him, and he'd tried to date them, but they'd go on one or two dates and Embry would end it there. They just never felt right. Now he knew why.

Embry stood up and stretched briefly before taking off through the woods to get back to his own shop. _The shop._ Oh crap his mother was going to kill him. He'd have to find a way to sneak in so that she didn't see him. He knew that if she saw him, he'd have to stay behind and listen to her. If he did that, Jessica would have left the store long before he ever got to play out his plan. And it was such a good plan. That's why the moment the shop on the reservation came into view, he phased back into his human form, then went around to the tree that he'd left his pants by and slid them on. He then as quietly as he could went around to the door of the shop and pushed it open, praying it wouldn't wake his probably still sleeping mother. This part seemed to be going smoothly, as the door let out a small chime as it opened and closed leaving Embry to hurry up the steps to the house part of the shop. It was small with a single bathroom, tiny kitchen, small living room, and two small bedrooms. One for his mother, and one for him. His mother's was the one closest to the stairs. He peeked into the open door to his mother still sound asleep. He frowned. She looked exhausted. She always did. She'd told him before she could hardly get to sleep when he disappeared. But it couldn't be helped. Embry continued on to get to his room where he changed into one of his only pairs of jeans, and a t-shirt. Normally he would have liked to just throw on shorts and no shirt, but as it was apparently chilly to the humans, he was sure he'd need to at least be wearing a shirt to avoid prying eyes when he got to the store. Embry then, rather than risking the bell ringing door, opened his window and jumped from his window to the ground. To a human, it might have broken a bone or two. But to a wolf…well…they tended to run sturdier.

Embry then went to his truck. His old truck that he had to pray before he tried to make it start. He was working on it though. He knew it would be a problem when he first got it, but he liked fixing things. Gave him a bit of piece. Especially when it was fixing a car. Or automobile of some kind. After all, Jacob didn't fix up those motorcycles alone. At least, not entirely. Embry got in the truck, started it up, and began is journey back to Forks. With any luck, he'd be at the only grocery store in the town with enough time to execute his plan before Jessica came out. And so he did. After a twenty minute drive, he pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store, and spotted Jessica's car immediately. He knew he wouldn't have a lot of time though. He pulled up a few spots down from Jessica's car and parked, then ran over to her car and pushed the hood up. He then pulled at a few wires, and unplugged a battery before he shut the hood and headed towards the door of the store, just in time to see Jessica coming out of it, her arms full of bags. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted him and raised her eyebrows in surprise. **"Oh! Uh, hi, there? I didn't know you shopped here."** She said, obviously confused. Embry now had to attempt to act "normal".

" **Not really, but occasionally. There's a few things you can get here that we can't get at a store on the res though."** That wasn't a lie either. A few brands just didn't cater to the considerably poorer stores on the reservation. **"Do you need help with those?"** Embry asked, immediately leaning in to help her with her bags but Jessica shook her head **. "Nope! My car is just over there, I don't want to hold you up. Plus I'm kind of in a hurry."** Jessica replied, laughing nervously at the end as she did an exaggerated gesture with her head as if to point out her car while she turned down his offer. Embry pulled his hands away and nodded. **"Okay…well…I guess, I'll see you around, maybe?"** He said as more of a question, though knew he would make damn sure he saw Jessica again. But he didn't want to freak her out again by insisting he would. So Embry went into the store and grabbed a few cheap and fairly random things before exiting. He had to keep the smile down when he spotted Jessica's car still in the parking lot, and a very frustrated Jessica sitting in the car still attempting to start it. Embry took a deep breath and walked back to his own car. He didn't want to look too eager. He took his time setting his one bag in the back seat before he closed the door and turned around to see Jessica's car still there. He walked over and finally knocked on the window. She looked up startled, apparently having been concentrating on turning her key to death and hitting the steering wheel while exclaiming a certain profanity. Jessica's window then slowly rolled down. **"Are you okay in there?"** Embry asked, sounding concerned, though he was just glad that Jessica didn't appear to know anything about cars.

" **My car won't start."** Jessica admitted, her frustration clear by her expression. **"Do you want to let me take a look? I'm pretty good with cars."** Embry offered, and finally Jessica began to nod. Very slowly. **"Would you? That would be great because I know, like, nothing. At all. I can't even change a tire."** She replied, speaking fairly quickly once he got her talking. **"I guess we'll need to change that sometime wont we? It'd be pretty bad if you got a flat and didn't have anyone to help you out. "** And he was serious with his words as he went around to the front of her car. It was bad for the rim, and even dangerous to drive on a flat. And while Embry was going to try to be with her as much as he could, he didn't want to risk Jessica being stranded somewhere because of a flat. Embry opened the hood and pretended to peer inside and look for what was wrong. Jessica came around and looked inside too, though he could tell that while she might have been trying to look for what was wrong, it was all a bunch of strange wires and metal to her. **"Oh I think I see it! This looks pretty bad though, I mean I can patch it up enough for you to get home, but this really needs to be fixed."** Embry lied, though he was looking at Jessica seriously. Maybe one day she'd be able to tell when he was lying. But thank the lord today didn't appear to be that day because Jessica was quick to nod and agree. **"Absolutely! Though I don't really know anyone who can fix cars…."** Jessica said and she looked down in thought as if she were trying to go over everyone she knew who might be able to solve the problem. She would rather keep an actual mechanic out of it though, as mechanics tended to do more harm than good to cars in order to get a bigger bill. **"Well I can fix it for you if you want. I'm free right now if you want me to follow you home, and I can start fixing it up."** Embry suggested. Jessica cocked her head to the side in thought, though by the look she had on her face, she obviously wasn't opposed to the idea.

" **Alright….I mean, as long as you're sure. It'd really be helping me out."** Jessica agreed causing Embry to smile at her. **"Okay then, mind if you get in your car and start the engine when I say?"** Embry asked and Jessica nodded once before turning on her heel and doing a sort of prance back into the driver's seat. Embry then began plugging everything he'd taken apart before back into the correct locations. He did it slowly though so as to give the illusion it were a harder problem than it actually was. **"Alright, now try to start it!"** He called around the hood to Jessica. The engine roared right to life leaving Embry to close the hood of the car and grin through the windshield at Jessica. **"We're good."**

 _ **(**_ _ **Bonus:**_ __

 _ **I tend to listen to a single song when I'm writing. A different song for a different chapter to set the mood. So I've decided that at the end of each chapter I'll list what song it was. I find listening to the same song helps me keep the mood of the chapter, as well as inspires me.**_

 _ **Song for this chapter:**_ _ **Never be alone – Shawn Mendes**_ _ **)**_


	3. To Marshmallow, or not to Marshmallow

**(I appreciate everyone's support thus far** **, and I am glad you all seem to be enjoying the story.**

 **Also I do apologize for taking so long to update, It's just I do work, and my schedule has been insane as of late. Not to worry though! I've gotten it fixed, and so my updates will be much more regular!**

 **And also guys, if the writing is too confusing, please let me know, I have it sort of in a third person but kinda go back and forth between basing who it's following, so while I know exactly what's going on, I don't want you guys to be like "Wait, what? Who is this?" So if it gets confusing, just let me know and I'll try to make it clearer in the future.)**

Jessica wasn't used to having strangers follow her home. Sure she'd met him once before, but just that one time. So she still considered him a stranger. However considering that he was a friend of Jacob, and Jacob was a friend of Bella, how bad could he be? Okay, so maybe that's a bad example Jessica thought. She never could trust Bella's judgement. Not after how deep a depression Bella had gone into when Edward left, and certainly not after the time Jessica went to the movies with her and Bella actually got on the back of a motorcycle with a strange and obviously drunk man. Though if this guy knew enough to start her car in a parking lot without any tools, then surely he'd be able to fix the actual problem with her car. Whatever it may have been. So Jessica decided she could at least let him try to help. She would just keep her phone close. And there was just something about him that Jessica trusted. She couldn't really name it, but she'd always had a keen sense of who was trust worthy and who wasn't. Even if no one ever believed her. Though in the end, so far she was proud of the fact that she'd always been proved right.

Jessica pulled her car as far back into her driveway as she could. It was a small drive way, and so it would only fit two cars. But she was sure her father wouldn't care _too_ much that he had to park on the curb once she told him about how she almost got stuck at the grocery store because her car wouldn't start. Jessica climbed out of her car just in time to hear the door of Embry's own truck slam shut. She looked up to see the tall boy coming towards her as she shut her door. **"So, do you have any tools anywhere?"** Embry asked her, attempting to sound like the only reason he was here was to work, without sounding cold. He just didn't want to frighten her. Or get slapped. Though Embry wondered if he'd be able to avoid being slapped. From what he'd heard, every imprint had slapped her wolf at least once. With the exception of Nessie, but then, Nessie wasn't your typical girl anyway. She was born about a hundred anyway. Personally though, he did enjoy Paul's being slapped more than anyone else. Apparently the way _he_ had tried to tell Rachel that they were imprinted, was by showing up in her living room shirtless and trying to make out with her. That of course hadn't been Paul's idea, as while Paul might have had a bad temper, he wasn't one to try and force himself on girls. No, he'd gotten the idea from _Jared_ who had convinced Paul that it'd _"be romantic."_ It went without saying that neither of them really had much idea when it came to romance. Or at least, not on purpose. Embry didn't hang out much with the imprints much without the other wolves, but occasionally he'd be just around the corner while the women talked in the kitchen of Emily's house. They'd take turns bragging about their imprints. _"Oh just the other night Jared brought me home a big bouquet of wild flowers!"_ Kim would say, always excited whenever Jared did _anything_ for her at all. That would make Rachel ready to inform the other women of how Paul unexpectedly did the dishes or even the laundry. Stuff Paul usually not so subtly referred to as _"women's work."_ Which is probably why Rachel found it so sweet of him. No matter his opinion on housework, he did a lot of it, just to make her life easier. Embry had even heard Claire of all people brag about how Quil did her hair and made her lunch. But the thing was, is that they never really planned to do any of that stuff. Sometimes he'd hear about how his friends were going to do some big romantic gesture, but that stuff they just _did_ without any thought. He didn't even think Paul or Jared realized they were being sweet when they did it, because to them, it was common sense. Rachel liked a clean house, Kim liked wild flowers. Easy.

" **Oh well…I …actually don't know."** Jessica admitted. She should have thought of that sooner. **"My dad might, but I don't actually know…and even if he does, I have no clue where they are…I guess I should of said something before I had you drive all the way over here."** Jessica said with a frown, well now she'd made him waste a trip. Embry was quick to shake his head. **"OH no! It's no problem, I can just drive home and get mine."** Embry replied. He wanted to fix this situation as soon as he could, knowing that Jessica's frown had to mean she felt bad considering the last part of her sentence.

" **Well I mean, before we do that…maybe if my dad does have some you can use them, but since we have to wait, why don't you come inside and warm up? It's pretty cold out here. And I can make cocoa! Or coffee, do you drink coffee? Though you can't really put marshmallows in coffee…I mean I guess you could…but, like, I don't."** Jessica rambled on for a bit, even laughing a little at herself by the end before looking up to Embry, waiting for her answer. While Jessica might have been cold though, looking at Embry, he didn't seem to be affected by the weather at all. She had her hands shoved deep in her pockets, while he just had his carelessly draped at his sides. If anything he seemed at peace with everything, from the cold temperature, to her needless rambling, to the fact he was standing in her driveway totally prepared to fix her car. **"I think cocoa sounds really good."** Embry replied shortly, giving Jessica a small but warm smile. Jessica grinned and nodded her head twice. **"Okay, um, cool, this way then."** Jessica said before turning on her heel and briskly walking to the front door of her home. She shoved her key into the lock, turned it and jiggled the knob before pushing the door open. **"It always gets jammed."** Jessica explained sheepishly as if to justify why she'd had to mess with the knob before actually getting it opened.

" **I can fix that too."** Embry stated, in more of a matter of fact manner than as an actual question if she wanted him to or not. As if it was just natural that he should fix it for her. That maybe due to the fact that to Embry, it was. Jessica glanced back at Embry from the corner of her eye. **"But you're already fixing my car, I shouldn't ask you to fix that too. Plus I'm sure I can do a door knob myself, that I can just Youtube."** Jessica replied with a grin. Everything was on Youtube. **"Thanks for the offer though."** Jessica said as she lead Embry into her kitchen. Jessica grabbed the kettle that her mother always kept on the stove and filled it with water. She glanced up at Embry before she turned back to the stove and set the kettle on the left back burner then switched the temperature on. Embry seemed fixated on looking all around the room. In a way it made Jessica feel a bit self conscious. Was he looking for a mess? Or something to make fun of her about? She didn't think so. He didn't seem to be the type. Certainly not with his constant attempts to try and help her. Luckily, Jessica's family were all very neat and organized. It was seldom that anything was actually left out of place. **"Do you wanna take your coat off? It's pretty warm in here."** Jessica commented as she shed her own coat off and placed it on the back of a chair. She then pulled at the arms of her sweater a bit, pulling them back down into place after they'd gotten bunched up in her coat.

Embry followed suit, though he didn't have any sleeves to pull down. He wore a t-shirt. Jessica tried not to stare at his arms. They weren't absurdly large, but he obviously had muscles under that shirt. Even without her staring though, she found herself grinning slightly at the thought of what might have been beneath his shirt. **"You um, are wearing a T-shirt? Even though it's so cold?"** She asked, making Embry want to laugh at how happy she sounded about that. **"I'm not really that cold. Actually…I'm kinda** _ **hot**_ **."** Embry replied, putting emphasis on the word hot as he attempted a rather lame joke. Luckily for him, even though he regretted how stupid it sounded right after he'd said it, Jessica still began to laugh. He couldn't really tell whether or not she was laughing at him, or with him, but that didn't really matter. Not to Embry anyway, he was just glad she was laughing. At something _he'd_ said. **"Are you in school or anything?"** Embry asked, deciding it was about time he actually started learning a few things about her.

" **Well, sorta. I haven't really started yet, but in two weeks I'm going to California…for college. I'm kind of super excited about it."** Jessica said with a huge grin. Embry, on the other hand, could feel his insides deflate. _Two weeks_. That's all he had with her. Or at least, that's all he had to try to make her fall in love with him. Unfortunately, Jessica wasn't like some other girls. While she might be easy to read, and seemed perfectly willing to accept when an attractive guy was around, earning her trust, and even getting her to fall in love would be _a lot_ more difficult. Embry forced a smile anyway. **"That's great news. What are you majoring in?"** Embry asked now.

" **English…I'm going for a teaching degree. It seemed like a stable idea**." Jessica replied with a shrug. **"What about you? Are you still in school?"** Jessica asked. **"Oh please! Sit down."** She insisted, even pulling out a chair for Embry before plopping down into a chair by the dining room table herself. Embry nodded gratefully and took the seat she'd pulled out from her. It was on the side of the table that was across from her. Which worked just as well, this always made for a better talking position. **"Um, yeah, I'm a Senior…you know…in highschool…"** Embry admitted. Though he didn't want too. He would have liked for Jessica to think he was older than he was, but he figured when she actually found out how old he was, she'd be pretty upset upon realizing he was several years younger than her and didn't bother to say anything. Jessica raised her eyebrows. She supposed that wasn't too bad. She didn't have an abundant amount of time to think on it before the kettle on the stove began to whistle. Jessica stood up and walked around the kitchen counter to get to the cabinets, she opened one up and pulled out two mugs, then went to the refrigerator and attempted to get the cocoa mix off of the top of it. The problem was, it was pushed just slightly too far back on the fridge than she could reach. Her fingers could touch it, but she couldn't quite grasp it. That is, until long, tan fingers found themselves glazing past her own with ease and grasping the box. Jessica pulled her hand back and spun to face Embry, who was now standing directly in front of her, the only thing separating them was the cocoa mix that Embry held between them in one hand as he stared down at her. His warm brown eyes finding hers. **"You looked like you needed a little help."** He said in a nice soft yet deep voice that made her breath catch in her throat. She hadn't even heard him get out of his chair, but somehow he'd managed to get up and stand this close to her without her noticing. So close she could feel the warmth radiating off of him. Almost like a heater set to low.

It wasn't until the sound of the front door opening and shutting itself that Jessica was able to get ahold of herself enough to at least tear her eyes away from Embry's. And not until she heard the distinct voice of her father calling down the hallway that she even remembered she'd not turned off the stove yet.

" _Jess! You around? There's some strange car in the drive way!"_ Her father called, padding down the hall and into the kitchen, stopping short when he spotted Embry and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Jessica's father wasn't short, but he wasn't tall either. He was an aging man with short cut, dark but slowly graying hair, and hints of wrinkles around his face **.** _"OH. And, whose you're friend that I've never before seen in my life? And why is he standing in my kitchen without warning?"_ He asked skeptically. It wasn't that he didn't trust Jessica, he was certain he'd raised her to at least have good judgement. However that didn't change the fact that Embry was a stranger to Jessica's father, and also one who looked like he could crush a small truck if he really wanted too with his bare hands. Not that it was such a big surprise of all things. He looked like he was from _some_ reservation at least. And for him to turn up at his house, it had to be one close by. So really the Quileute reservation. And it was no secret that as of late, the boys from that reservation were turning into beasts of boys. From what he'd heard, they were all well behaved. Or at least, there was no news of them spray painting buildings and getting into any of those nasty gang wars. But Mr. Stanley still suspected steroids had to have something to do with it. And so naturally he had to be wary of Embry.

" **I'm Embry Call…I live on the reservation."** Embry introduced himself, even holding out a hand for Jessica's father to shake. And he did. Slowly as he continued to eye Embry. Jessica was now in the process of getting out a third cup, already knowing that if cocoa was involved, her father was never one to refuse a cup. **"Well, dad, okay, so like, funny story."** Jessica said, already smiling. Though that didn't necessarily mean it would be funny to anyone aside from herself. **"Okay, so like, you know how I went to the beach the other day with Lauren? Well She decided to leave kind of early, but I wanted to stay and see a few sites around the reservation that I had never really gotten around too. So I did. And then I just like, wandered into his mother's store. But she wasn't there. It was Embry and some…oh no, Jacob's his name, that's right. Almost forgot for a minute. Anyway, so I went to the store, and something broke, and that's how I met Embry here, and then I left. And then this morning when I went to the store, once I came out I couldn't get my car to start. And then out of nowhere comes Embry! I know, it's just like, so crazy, am I right?"** Jessica said then began laughing a little and even lightly nudging Embry on the arm with her elbow before continuing on in her store. **"So then Embry manages to get it to at least make it back here, but he says it still needs work. So he's offered to fix it! For free! Do you have any tools?"** Jessica rambled on for a little longer before she actually even remembered she needed to ask her father that at all.

Mr. Stanley took a moment to stand there and try to pick through what Jessica had told him. He loved his daughter, he truly did. But even he had to admit that her story telling skills…much like her mother's….were not the best. Nor the most reliable. And he was almost certain that when she mentioned that _something broke_ , she had to have been the one who broke it. _"Out in the shed. Blue toolbox. I don't have many, but help yourself. Call me when that's done."_ He said finally, nodding his head to the kettle before leaving the kitchen in favor of the living room. It was only one room over, but he didn't want to impose on Jessica and her new "friend", though he sure as hell didn't plan on leaving the house, or even going into his study or bedroom while some strange boy was around.

Jessica turned back to face Embry, a grin on her face **. "So, we'll get this cocoa into some thermoses, and get to work? Or we can drink it now. I can make more for later. Yeah let's just drink this batch now. That way we can just have more. Unless you don't want too. But I'd like to talk a bit more…okay and I'm avoiding going out into the cold."** Jessica said all at once, just as she always did. Embry laughed and shook his head. **"You don't have to come out. I don't mind working on the car by myself."** Embry suggested. While he might have wanted to spend as much time with Jessica as he possibly could, if she wanted to stay inside in the warmth, he fully supported that. Whatever she wanted, he wanted for her.

" **Oh no! Don't be silly! Of course I'm going to help you. It should be fun, I've never worked on a car before. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two! And you can show me how to change a tire. I might need that at least, for the drive down to California, you know?"** Jessica insisted. And she also didn't plan on letting Embry suffer alone out in the cold doing something for her, no matter how much he pretended like the cold didn't bother him. After she'd finished mixing the cocoa mix in both of their cups, she handed Embry one, and kept the other to herself, holding it high up. **"Cheers!"** She exclaimed using her best false British accent, which wasn't actually that good. After she heard the satisfying clank of their mugs she pulled hers back down and began to drink.

Turned out, this was not the best idea she'd ever had. It was much hotter than she'd expected, and so she ended up burning her tongue. She put the mug down quickly and wrinkled her nose. **"Ow! That's hot!"** She exclaimed now, trying to avoid Embry's eyes in slight embarrassment. Though still she couldn't help but to look at him. And as she looked at him, she spotted his head tilted down to his own cup. He looked at the cup, then at Jessica, then at the cup, then at Jessica. Then without warning he threw his head back and took a big gulp of the hot liquid. He squeezed his eyes shut then opened one to peak at her before opening the other. She stared at him as if he were completely insane. Why would he just voluntarily do such a thing?! **"Yup, that's hot. Had to make sure you were right. And I second your statement."** Embry said very seriously. He stared at Jessica now, and there was silence between them for a brief moment before they both let out loud laughter.

 **(** _ **Song for this Chapter:**_

 _ **Kitchen Door – Wolf Larsen**_

 **If you enjoyed this or have a suggestion, comment, opinion or anything of the sort, please don't forget to leave a review, also if you enjoyed it feel FREE to favorite and follow! Thanks for reading : )**


	4. Midnight fires

" **Hey, Embry, when you finish with that, do you think you could possibly, maybe, like, I don't know…well no, I do know, I just um…one of the steps on the back deck is broken."** Jessica stated as she looked up at Embry, who stood on a ladder fixing the gutter on the front of her house. Embry had taken only two days to fix Jessica's car. But in the week and a half that had gone by, Jessica continued to find stuff around her home for Embry to fix after finding that she actually liked having him around. Probably more than she should admit. It wasn't just Jessica though, her father had also seem to take a quick liking to Embry. Or it at least seemed that way due to his asking every day since Embry's first visit if he was coming each day, and then insisting he stay for meals. Embry smiled a little at Jessica and nodded once. **"I can fix that."** He replied calmly. He knew that he shouldn't be spending so much time at Jessica's. In fact, whenever he went home now, his mother would be there, waiting to yell. Not only did he keep sneaking out at night to patrol for the tribe, but now he would sneak out during the day to go to Jessica's. And if his mother tried to leave him in charge of the shop? Well, he just kept getting other members of the pack to watch it for him. He hated asking that of them, but Embry now only had three days left with Jessica before she was supposed to leave for California. And honestly, Embry still wasn't sure what he was going to do about that. He wanted Jessica to get an education if it was what she wanted, but he also wanted her to stay with him. He considered following her to California, just to watch over her. But that would prove to be difficult. If she found out, she'd think he was stalking her and then he wouldn't have a chance at all. And he couldn't just follow her around and watch from the woods in California, because where she was going, there wasn't really any. But if he stayed in Forks, he wouldn't get to see her.

Luckily, the guys seemed to understand what he was going through. Even if they'd never experienced it themselves, they all seemed well aware of the difficult position that Embry was in. The one who came closest was Paul, but Paul had more than two weeks to make Rachel love him and convince her to stay. And while Embry didn't know much about women, he was ready to assume that it was too early in he and Jessica's relationship to start trying to ask her to stay in Forks. **"Um, hey Jessica."** Embry called out as he climbed off of the ladder when Jessica began to leave. She stopped and turned around to look at him **. "Well, on the reservation, something we like to do a lot is have bonfires. Really brings the community together. You and your family have been so good to me, so I thought maybe you'd wanna come to one? We're having one tonight, It'll be cold and all, I totally get if you don't just don't wanna-"** Embry asked and then attempted to give her an out. He didn't want Jessica to feel like she had to do anything if she didn't want to. Luckily, Jessica cut him off before he got too far in his rambling. **"I would love to! Or, I mean, if you don't mind. I've never been to a bonfire."** Jessica accepted quickly. A large part of why she accepted as quickly as she did couldn't be denied that it was due to Embry being the one to ask her to go, as if it had been someone else she very well might have thought up some reason to refuse. But while Jessica might not outright admit it, she had actually begun to develop a little bit of a crush on the muscular handy man.

Embry couldn't hide his grin upon hearing Jessica's answer. He'd known it was a shot in the dark as to whether or not Jessica would want to go anywhere with him. He wouldn't think too into why she'd said yes though. He just wanted to be glad that she'd said yes. Even if it was just for to have a fun evening before she left for California. **"Cool, we'll leave around six if that's alright with you. It'll be a little early, but I have to help set up and everything."** Embry told her, Jessica nodded along as he spoke. **"Sounds perfect! I can't wait. Should I bring anything? Actually, I'll bring sodas. I have to get sodas…I'll be back!"** Jessica informed Embry before he could stop her. She was fast, he'd give her that. Before he could even get a word in she'd managed to get all the way to her car and slam the door then peel out of her driveway, probably to get to the store. Embry watched as her car disappeared. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. She really was something else.

" **I really don't know if I should be here."** Jessica whispered, suddenly nervous now that she was actually headed into Embry's circle of friends. The idea had sounded so fun, but now that she was here, well, she just wasn't sure. She didn't want to make a bad impression on Embry's friends. Reasonably Jessica knew that it didn't really matter what they thought of her. She and Embry were not a couple, and considering she was leaving in a few days, they might never be. **"Yeah, diffidently not. I should go. They won't like me. I'll just go wait in the car."** Jessica decided while she and Embry were only just walking towards a group of people that appeared to be hanging around a large fire pit. She turned around and attempted to take a step back towards the car when she felt something catch her arm causing her to nearly topple backwards until she fell against something hard yet warm. She then felt more warmth wrap around her, which in the cold weather, Jessica had to admit felt truly incredible. She looked down to see it was the familiar strong arms of Embry. Her back was pressed around his chest now causing her to grin a little at the ridiculous position. **"Hey now. I invited you. You're a guest."** He said calmly, his voice low while he leaned his head down. Jessica took a breath as she felt the warm tickle of his breath. **"Well…yeah, but that doesn't mean they'll like me."** Jessica replied quietly.

" **They'll love you."** Embry said very seriously. Not to make her feel better, but because Embry loved her. And in his eyes, he couldn't see how anyone couldn't love her. **"Besides, if you do or say something that they don't like, they'll forget right away, because no one's a bigger idiot than Jared."** Embry said lightly as he straightened his head back up causing Jessica to begin laughing. **"Is he the one letting balls be thrown at him?"** Jessica asked, still giggling as she looked back up to the group once more where a shirtless boy around Embry's age appeared to be standing strong as he was being pelted in the chest by miscellaneous balls by the other boys.

" _AH! Is that all you got? Give me a challenge, Quil!"_ He could be heard shouting from the distance as he pounded his own fists together. The outburst by the boy only caused Jessica to laugh harder. **"The one and only."** Embry replied with a grin as he set his chin on Jessica's shoulder while he watched his friend put his antics on display for everyone. Even Kim who often worried almost too much about Jared's safety was sitting on a picnic table watching as she laughed. Probably too hard to be able to tell him to stop before he got hurt. Which very well might have been why Jared was still standing without retaliating. Yet. Embry knew it was only a matter of time before Jared began throwing the balls back. **"Now, come on. They'll love you."** Embry assured as he lifted Jessica up to carry her cradle style. Jessica squealed in delight, and playfully struggled for a minute while Embry carried her through the grassy area to get to the pit where everyone else awaited. Embry set Jessica down once they were by the picnic table. Everyone fell silent and stopped what they were doing in favor of staring at Jessica. Taking in who they all thought might be the newest addition to their little pack. Jessica pursed her lips a little and clasped her hands together in front of her, her awkwardness now obvious.

Just as Embry was about to step in and attempt a conversation to ease the tension, Emily pushed her way past everyone who stood in her way and gave Jessica a big smile. _"You must be Jessica. I'm Emily, come on over here. We'll leave the men to their…games."_ Emily said as she looked between Jared and Quil who both looked completely baffled as to what she could be talking about. Emily proceeded to steer Jessica to where they had set out a bunch of lawn chairs, most of which were already occupied by the other women. Even shy, sweet Kim got up from the picnic table and followed Emily and Jessica, probably as curious of Jessica as everyone else seemed to be. Emily gestured for Jessica to sit in the chair that happened to be in the middle of the other women. _"Oh, This is Kim, Rachel, and Leah."_ Emily introduced them one by one as she sat on the right side of Jessica, Rachel on the left. Kim sat on the other side of Emily while Leah was beside Rachel. _"Kim is dating Jared over there, and Rachel is seeing Paul."_ Emily said, attempting to tell Jessica a bit more about them in order to make the new comer feel a little more welcome. **"Oh, well, um, hi…everyone! I'm super happy to meet you all. Embry didn't tell me it'd be quite this many people…"** Jessica said awkwardly.

" _Well you don't need to worry. Most of us wont bite."_ It was Rachel who spoke. She gave a sort of half grin as she said and glanced towards Leah. Call her crazy, but this didn't do much in the way of reassuring Jessica. **"I don't usually bite either."** Jessica came back at her. This seemed to catch Rachel by surprise, but it got a few chuckles from all the women regardless. Embry looked over when he saw the group of females seemingly to be enjoying Jessica's company. He knew they would…or at least…most of them. Leah never seemed to particularly like anyone anymore. Though She didn't look particularly displeased with Jessica, so that was a good sign. Embry got a small content smile on his face as he watched Jessica from afar. He was so mesmerized by her, just taking her in that he didn't even realize something was about to hit him in the face until it'd touched base. Embry's head flew back from the impact, though it hadn't actually hurt. Embry's first instinct was to figure out just _what_ it was. Not a hard one. At his feet there was now a soccer ball. Now to find out _who_. Again, a simple one. The culprit made his way right up to Embry and threw him in a headlock. _"Come on Lover boy! You're gonna get yourself killed if you stay out of it like that!"_ Paul exclaimed as he kept his death grip around Embry's neck with his arms whilst Embry attempted to pull out. **"Let go! Or else when I get out of this…well you don't wanna know what I'm gonna do!"** Embry threatened but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as Paul just threw his head back in laughter, hanging on for a few more second as if to let Embry know that he had let him go on his own accord rather than due to Embry's weak threats.

Paul began walking away, and Embry saw his chance. He picked up the soccer ball and chucked it at the back of Paul's head. Paul stopped dead in his track, and Embry knew that logically he should try running for the hills. And yet, just like always, the defiance in him held his feet to the ground and instead prepared for a fight. Or a wrestling match at the very least. The pack hardly truly fought each other anymore. They'd all gotten into a pretty good swing of things. Especially with Paul now having his own imprint. Before there used to be plenty of wolf on wolf fights, most involving Paul and his terrible temper. But since Paul had imprinted, Emily served as a warning as to what losing control could do. Paul had been practicing extra self control for the sake of Rachel. And he was actually doing better than anyone could have expected. Honestly, Paul also seemed to be happier for it as well. He never had been one to hold grudges. Paul's way had always been to fight on impulse when he was angry, apologize later, and then let things go back to normal. Now he would get angry, but when he got angry he would generally storm off if he felt himself getting too worked, and then would refuse to come back until he was positive that he wasn't going to attack anyone.

The evening seemed to be going smoothly. And as it grew darker, Embry was actually surprised upon seeing that Jessica had actually broken off from the women and was now sitting on the picnic table with Kim. From the looks of it, it appeared to be a pleasant conversation. Just a bit baffling as Kim was usually the one who hung back around strangers. The shy one. But whatever Jessica was saying to her was cracking Kim up. By now things had long since been finished being put up, and Quil had even brought out his radio to give them some music. Embry made his way over to Jessica and looked at her quietly for a moment. She looked back at him. **"Do you wanna dance with me?"** Embry asked finally. Looking into Jessica's beautiful grayish-blue eyes with his own dark eyes. Jessica nodded slowly and took Embry's now outstretched hand to help her up. **"I'll um, catch up with you later Kim."** Jessica said as she began to walk away with Embry. Little did she know that Kim was grinning from ear to ear. It wasn't a secret among the pack that Jessica was Embry's imprint. The only one who remained in the dark about it seemed to be Jessica herself.

Embry wrapped his arms around Jessica, ignoring the fact that a slow song was not playing on the radio. Instead it was a fast pop song. But that didn't matter. Embry had found that nothing gave him a greater piece than having Jessica in his arms. And so he wanted her in his arms as much as he could get there before she left. As Embry held Jessica's considerably smaller frame close to him, he realized that no matter how much he held her, when she was gone, it'd probably just make the ache of not having her with him all the worse. Because now he knew what it was like to hold her. With that in mind, Embry pulled Jessica just a little closer. It was a bold move considering how he hadn't met Jessica long ago at all, and it was very possible she'd want some space. After all, the imprint could live without their wolf. It was the wolf who was tied to them forever. Embry pulled himself away from Jessica slightly. **"Jessica, can we walk and talk for a little bit?"** Embry asked quietly. He didn't want to pressure her, but at the same time, while he didn't know exactly what he wanted to say yet, he just knew he had to do it now. **"Um, okay, yeah, sure. What about?"** Jessica asked as she dropped her arms down to her sides. She immediately regretted this though, as now that the sun had gone down, it'd gotten all the colder. And Embry seemed to serve as a heater. Something Jessica had noticed when he was at her home that first day, but couldn't quite figure out why. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and followed just a step behind Embry as he led her to the other side of Sam and Emily's home. Jessica was almost hesitant to follow Embry away from the group. In horror movies, this sort of thing never ended well. But she just…trusted…him. **"Okay, if this is something that like, might end with me dead, I'm totally leaving. Okay? Like, death is not on my activity planner for the day. And it'd be just a real bummer, you know? Like when I start college, the professors will be like** _ **'where's Jessica?'**_ **and I just won't be there, because I'll be busy being dead. And they'll just think I like, gave up."** She spoke nervously now. This was something she did when she was nervous. She'd just talk. In unfamiliar situations, her own voice was familiar. And that was enough to at least calm her down a little.

" **I could never hurt you**." Embry said, smiling a little as he continued to walk until they were out of site of the others. Finally, Embry turned and stood in front of Jessica. **"I just wanted to um…I just…have…feelings, for …you."** Embry admitted quietly. It was with his admittance of that which got him to realize what he had to do. **"And I know that you're going away. Probably for a long time. But I can't help myself."** Embry said, bringing his hand up to caress Jessica's cheek. **"But I have to tell you before you go…. Otherwise I might never get the chance**." He said in a whisper. **"And you're going to think I'm crazy. But I'll prove. And you'll probably run away. So, here, take my car keys. You can take the truck if you want. But you deserve the truth."** He said, finally dropping his hand from Jessica's now startled face. **"Jessica. From the moment I saw you, I was in love. It was like, everything in the world for me changed. For the better, because now I've seen you. It's like I've only just woken up to a new world, where as long as you're here, I just know things will be alright. It's because you're my imprint. And I know this is confusing now…But I can prove it to you…like I said."** Embry said, beginning confidently, but the deeper he got, the more nervous his voice became. Not because he himself was frightened in particular. But he was worried about frightening her. He was worried about being the one _to_ frighten her. He didn't want to see Jessica upset or scared. But to be the cause of it would be gut wrenching. He knew how his pack brothers felt whenever they accidentally upset their imprints, but he couldn't imagine actually feeling it. He reached into his pocket and took out his car keys then handed them to Jessica, who very slowly took them from him. She was obviously already ready to bolt. As much as Jessica wanted love, she wasn't stupid. Guys like this were insane. She'd watched a whole documentary on it. Sociopaths with other disorders is what they usually turned out to be. And in the end, the woman never came out on top.

" **Wolves imprint when they've found their mates. Werewolves do it too. I'm a werewolf Jessica."** That was the last statement Embry had before he began peeling off his clothes. Once his shirt was off, Jessica was wide eyed and backed against the side of the house. **"E-Embry. Stop it. You aren't a werewolf…a-and your friends are right over there. I-I'll scream!"** Jessica exclaimed as she began to feel her body tremble in terror. Oh God she knew it was a bad idea to come! And now he was taking his pants off. At this Jessica went wide eyed. She was panicking now, taking deep breaths as she looked away. **"Embry, please, don't do this…"** She begged as she looked back at him, tears from fear and betrayal beginning to gather in her eyes.

" **You have to see it."**

Those were Embry's last words before he closed his eyes. He walked a few paces away, ran a few steps back forwards, and jumped. But rather than the handsome boy that Jessica had wanted to fawn over, it was a giant rosette wolf that landed before her.

" **Oh my God**." Was all Jessica could get out before everything around her went black. She fell towards the ground, though her now limp body never touched it as Embry lunged forward to catch her fall with his soft fur coat.

 **(A/N:**

 **I know, a lot happened in this chapter, and I really appreciate all the wonderful feedback and everyone whose followed along.** **Don't worry though, there are more chapters to come! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a review with any questions, concerns, or anything else. Or message me. And I just hope you guys continue to enjoy it!)**

 **(** **Chapter Song:**

 **DNA – Lia Marie Johnson** **)**


	5. Welcome home

It had been months since Jessica was last home. Jessica was excited to go home and see her father again. She'd gotten into the habit of calling him every night so that he could be sure she was safe. Well, that and so that she could make sure to check up on him and make sure he was eating right, getting his laundry done and everything. But now she could see in person what he had been up too. It was winter break, and Jessica's father had arranged for Jessica to fly home. This was a trio that she had packed for a week in advance then spoke about nothing else to her friends. Not that any of them were much better, they too were excited to go home and see their families. Especially her roommate, Hannah. A girl that Jessica had made quick friends with seeing as they were both into sports and neither was particularly interested and going out and partying all the time.

Jessica checked her phone before boarding the plane, a message from her father asking if she was boarding yet. She replied a simple yes then added see you soon with a heart emoji for extra measure before switching her phone to airplane mode and placing it in the pocket of her jacket. It felt odd to be going back. As excited as she was, it was weird to think of herself as just visiting her own home. She wondered if she might even get to see any of her old friends. She doubted it, though honestly the only ones that Jessica had made any effort to keep in contact with was Lauren. The two would go a week or so without speaking, then call one another. Whenever the other wasn't really busy. However she wouldn't really get to see Lauren anyway. After Lauren moved out to go to college, her parents had sold most of their stuff and moved into an apartment in the city. It was doubtful she's ever just wander back into Forks.

And then there was Embry Call. Jessica hadn't had much contact with him though. She thought it might have in part been due to the bizarre dream she had ended up having about him just before she left. In the dream she remembered vividly him inviting her to dance, then taking a walk in the woods with him, and then out of nowhere he turned into a wolf! After that she didn't remember anything until she woke up. Embry had told her that they danced and then took a small walk, but turned back a few minutes later and watched the fire. Apparently she'd fallen asleep on him. But the whole thing had just felt so real. So much so it ended up leaving an eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she saw Embry. It was safe to say that their last goodbye hadn't been as romantic as she'd pictures it in her head before that night happened. Sure he would send her a text every now and then, she would reply. Nothing but formalities though. A how are you, and I'm fine conversation that always ended as abruptly as they had started. Still though, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't missed him .

The flight ended quicker than she had imagined it would. Maybe it was due to her being too busy thinking to pay attention to time. But before she knew it she was standing up, grabbing her bag, and walking off the plane and through the gate. Or at least she was trying to. It was so crowded in the area that she could hardly tell where she was going. By chance she made it to the escalator that would take her to the main floor. On her way down it didn't take her long at all to spot the face kid her father, grinning from ear to ear and holding a giant poster board that read 'Ms. Stanley' on it. **"Dad!"** She called and waved frantically with a grin. She was home.

" _I'll be home later, okay? I'll leave you some money to go out to lunch if you want. Maybe you can see of any of your little friends are around? Angela, Or maybe that guy you brought around before you left? Emmy something?"_ Jessica's Dad told her, pulling out his wallet and setting some money on the counter. Jessica might have been on winter break, but for Mr. Stanley, that hadn't quite started for him. At least, not until Christmas eve. Much to his dismay.

Jessica couldn't help but smile. Her father seemed to give her money at every turn now as if she were about to lose everything. **"Dad, don't worry about it. Well, actually, I'll probably eat here for lunch, but I'll get some pizza later. Sound good? I'll take the spare car."** Jessica suggested leaving her father to nod in approval with this plan.

" _If that would make you happy...I'll see you later then sweetheart."_ Mr. Stanley replied before kissing his daughter on the top of the head then grabbing his coat and walking out the door just a few moments later the aging man pulled put of the drive way, leaving Jessica to here own devices.

Jessica looked around her home. It felt almost foreign to her. She would be there for a few weeks and then be expected to leave again. She took a breath, Jessica didn't want to think about that right now. So instead of thinking of the inevitable, she grabbed the keys to her father's spare car, threw on her shoes and coat and out the door she went.

Jessica hadn't really known where she meant to go, but about ten minutes into her drive she realized that she was going the way to La Push. A strange place to be going when there was snow on the ground. However Jessica believed in fate. And so she kept on. To her, this was a clear sign that she should stop in and say hello to Embry. The last remaining friend she had. Or at least she hoped so. As she neared the store that Embryos mother owned, she began to feel dread in her stomach. _'What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he's angry for my lack of contact?'_

She gulped and shook and gulped. She didn't want to think of Embry angry with her. They hadn't known each other long before she had left, but honestly speaking, Embry had been kinder to her than any other guy she'd known in high school. Pulling up, she took a deep breath then pulled out a coin to flip. Heads she would go in, tails she would high tail it out of there. Heads. It landed heads.

Jessica pulled the sun visor down and began to straighten her hair a bit. She didn't look her best she'd known that she was going to end up here, she would have dressed to the ten's. **"Here we go."** She told herself calmly then opened the car of her door. Just a few steps later and she was on the small store. The familiar clinging of the bell announcing her entrance. Her eyes went directly to the counter to see if anyone was there. Not a soul. With a frown Jessica walked towards one of the aisles to peer down it. ' _This isn't creepy…not stalkerish at all.'_ She thought to herself. She felt thwarted when she saw no one in the aisle, but decided that Embry must not be around . Jessica's shoulders slumped down with disappointed as she turned around and opened and headed back out.

" **Jessica?"** Asked a soft but deep voice that stopped her in her tracks. Slowly Jessica turned back around and widened her eyes at the sight before her. It was Embry, but he wasn't as she remembered. His hair wasn't cut short, instead it was long. About down to his shoulders. He even had a bunch of stable growing on his face and down his neck some. Above all, he looked tired. He had heavy bags under his eyes, and his posture looked slumped as he leaned against the doorframe of the stairs that lead up to the second level of the shop. His home level. **"It's been awhile."** He added, a smile spreading across his mouth that reached up to his eyes.


	6. I know you

Embry hadn't slept much lately. When Jessica had first left, he had decided it was for the best. It was really saver for her if he wasn't apart of her life. But then a week went by, and all Embry had been able to think about was whether or not she was hurt. If someone hurt her, or was plotting too. He couldn't figure out why someone would want to hurt Jessica, he just knew that there were some God awful people in the world. So as soon as he could figure out what to do, he settled on leaving a note to his mother, enlisted Seth to take over his duties at the shop, then made his way to California. Once he'd made it to the actual campus things were tougher. There were so many people, and no where to hide. Embry had to try to blend in with the crowd. And then came trying to find her.

That part wasn't hard though. He had almost a built in censor for that. He just followed his gut and went where his feet took him. Every time he would end up finding her. He did have a lot of close calls though. She couldn't know that he had followed her. He was wondering around in the heat, fully clothed with sunglasses at all times, still fucking behind strangers and objects. He didn't want to scare her. Jessica was a woman who knew reason. And reasonably, Embry knew that to a normal human, he would be considered stalking her.

And since he couldn't be near her, and keep eyes on her at all times, he had gotten into the habit of staying up until he passed out. Not wanting to moss a second of her. Not that Embry would be getting a restful sleep anyway, as he found himself homeless for a good while until he happened by an auto shop near Jessica's campus and began working. The owner, while happy to have his help couldn't offer much but made a deal with Embry that he could stay in the apartment above the shop with him provided that Embry help around the shop.

He called his mother every day. He didn't know what to tell her. Why he left. He knew he'd broken her heart. And that hurt. He'd need to tell her someday. He couldn't keep this up. He always just told her he needed to leave for awhile. Just needed to get away. It never made it better, and he didn't expect it too.

To add to his guilt, when he finally came home following Jessica's return, his mother didn't even punish him. Just hugged him and told him how worried she had been. She wasn't even Angry just scared for him. And he couldn't even tell her why. Not yet at least.

At the sound of the door jingling, Embry grabbed the paper towels be had gone up the steps to get and walked back down. Sand that's when he saw her. Jessica, in her way out. He called out to her, causing her to stop and look at him. He almost wanted to laugh at the deer in headlights look she gave him, but he couldn't bring himself too. He was too busy watching her in awe. This was as close as he'd been to her in months. His instincts were telling him to run over to her and hug her and never let her go. But he didn't think she'd feel the same way. But then again, she had come to the store. Certainly she hadn't driven all the way out here for their knick knacks. **"It's been awhile."** Embry stated after a long pause, a grin spreading over his features.

" **I was starting to wonder if you would ever come back."** Embry said with a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. **"I am surprised that you came here though. I didn't think I'd see you again."** This wasn't a complete lie. He knew he would see her again, Embry would be sure of that. But with so little contact from her, he had begun to wonder if she would ever want to see _him_ again.

Jessica nibbled her lower lip a little. She didn't know what to say to that. He didn't seem angry with her like she had thought he would be. But now she didn't know what to do. She wasn't prepared for him to smile at her and act friendly, despite her lack of contact with him. She shouldn't have been surprised though. That just seemed to be something about Embry Call. He was quiet, but he was kind. Two things Jessica had always wished she could be. Maybe if she were quitter, people might like her more. And kind people didn't get so jealous of others. They were just happy to see others happy. At least that was how Jessica saw it.

" **Well of course I came here, we're friends. I-I wanted to see you."** Jessica finally got out. **"You've helped me a lot. I should have called, or sent more texts or something. I'm sorry."** She added, looking down at her feet. And she did mean it. Embry had been so kind to her, helped her with so much, and even invited her to a bonfire meant for family and close friends. She hadn't repaid him much for it at all. **"I was wondering though, if maybe you wanted to hang out…or something?"** She asked nervously. She wouldn't blame him if he said no. Or if he came up with some excuse. **"I totally wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to though. I'm sure you're busy and who am I to just walk in and expect-"**

" **I would love too."** Embry interrupted Jessica's words. Under normal circumstances, Embry would never have cut Jessica off. He wanted to hear every word she said, and treasure all of them. He would love to listen to the sound of her voice for the rest of his life if he could. But she was starting to doubt herself. Or more so, doubt how much he liked her. When in truth, she didn't even know a quarter of the way he felt about her. " **Just give me a minute, I'll call someone to come watch the shop for awhile."**

Jessica got an immediate grin as she straightened up. **"Are you sure they won't mind?"** She asked, walking closer to Embry before leaning against the check out counter. She didn't _really_ care if whoever he called minded or not, Jessica just wanted to spend some time with her friend again. **"Of course he won't. Seth was wanting a little extra cash anyway. Something about** _ **'saving up for a ride to pick up babes'**_ **in."** Embry said with a small laugh as he remembered he and Seth's conversation before he left. Seth always did have a way of looking on the bright side. He set down the roll of paper towels and instead pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing the younger boy's number.

It Hadn't taken long at all for Seth to arrive to Embry's aid. When he did enter the shop though, Seth's usual grin fell from his face as he stared at Embry stunned. He looked worse than when Jacob had disappeared. _"Dude…you look like shit."_ He stated, still holding the door open before it was grabbed by Leah, who upon seeing Embry looked every bit as shocked as her younger brother. **"Thank you Seth."** Embry stated with almost an amused smile. He had forgotten about his appearance up until now. Jessica hadn't even seemed to notice his appearance. Or at least, she hadn't given any indication that she noticed his long hair, and unshaved face. Something that he considered to be a good thing. Or at least, he thought so. **"It's good to see you Leah, Haven't seen you in awhile."** He added, holding out his hand to shake Leah's hand, only to be met with nothing. She never was the most friendly of his friends. _"Yeah you too, and Jessica."_ Leah said, acknowledging Jessica at least. Which was more than she could say she did for certain others. Namely Bella. To be fair though, Leah still blamed Bella for singlehandedly destroying Jacob's life. And while Embry had gone away for awhile, Leah couldn't fault her. Jessica didn't know the truth. Or well, she did, but she didn't know it. To Jessica, she was only going away to college. She didn't know how it would tear Embry apart. All because of his instincts. And that while technically had everything to do with Jessica, also had nothing to do with her.

Jessica looked surprised to hear Leah say her name. She hadn't thought Leah would remember her. Not after their one meeting. Though thanks to Embry, Leah had to hear Jessica's name at least three hundred times a day. **"You too, We have to get together some time. Emily, Rachel, and Kim too. A girls night before I go back to college?"** Jessica suggested then pulled out her phone. " **What's your number? I'll text you later."** Jessica asked eagerly. She didn't really know Leah that well. She had seemed standoffish now that she remembered it during their last encounter, but also friendly enough so that Jessica wasn't completely deterred from her. That said, with so little friends left around, and two weeks of freedom, it would be nice to be able to get out again at some point.

After exchanging numbers, Embry followed Jessica out to her car. Now he just had to come up with a quick game plan to get the woman he dreamed about swooning in his arms.


End file.
